Auburn head coach Tony Barbee has built a more talented roster in his third season with the Tigers. (Mark Almond/al.com)

AUBURN, Alabama -- An offseason makeover that turned over Auburn's roster in the offseason seems to have already produced at least one shift.

Auburn's influx of young talent can put the ball in the basket.

Freshmen Jordan Price and Shaquille Johnson headed a 38-36 win for the White team over the Blue in Auburn's open intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday, a game that featured Auburn playing mostly the returning holdovers against the new group head coach Tony Barbee brought in this offseason.

Price knocked down all four shots -- and 3-of-3 from beyond the 3-point line -- to score 11 points, and Johnson, known as a leaper coming out of high school, made 3-of-7 shots and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line to score 10 and help lead the White team over the Blue.

"We've been really high-level defensively in the past," Barbee said following Saturday's scrimmage. "Because of some of the talent and attributes we've gotten in recruiting, and some of the hard work by returning players, we've got a chance to do that at a better level."

Price and Johnson were the centerpieces of Barbee's recruiting class, a pair of top-100 players who have to provide an offensive boost to a team that ranked fourth in the SEC in scoring defense last season but struggled to score, averaging 62.6 points per game, 10th in the conference.

With a deeper, more talented roster, Barbee wants to raise the tempo, and in 20 minutes of live action, Auburn's newcomers looked capable enough to provide some help to returning scoring options Frankie Sullivan and Rob Chubb.

Chubb scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Blue squad, and Sullivan showed off some new spring in his legs with eight points and two steals.

As an entire team, Auburn shot 44.6 percent from the field and 36.8 from 3-point range during Saturday's scrimmage. Last year, the Tigers shot only 41.7 percent from the field and 30.2 percent from beyond the arc for the entire season.

"It's great to know that when we need a bucket to be scored, they can't just double out on me and Chubb," Sullivan said. "We've got freshman that are willing to take big shots and hit big shots."

Beyond Price and Johnson, a few of the other newcomers also showed an ability to put the ball in the basket. 7-footer Asauhn Dixon-Tatum had seven points, highlighted by a 15-foot jumper and a solid short hook, and power forward Jordon Granger was 3-of-5 with a 3-pointer.

Where the youngsters still have to learn is on the defensive side of the ball. Auburn's holdovers, led by pesky point guard Josh Wallace and Sullivan, repeatedly pressured the young players into turnovers and started fast breaks to get points.

Freshman point guard Brian Greene Jr., particularly, struggled with Wallace's pressure at the top of the key.

"There's not a whole lot of teams that have a waterbug, fast defender like Josh Wallace that those freshmen can work against in practice," Barbee said. "That's the kind of pressure they're going to face in the SEC."

Now that Auburn is two-deep with talent at every position, the key for Barbee will be figuring out how to mesh the defensive intensity of the holdovers with the newcomers' ability to put the ball in the basket.

If Auburn's incoming class can raise their defensive level of play, the Tigers could look like a very different team this season.

"When I first got here, I was really struggling with the defense, but now I'm starting to get it," Johnson said. "All of the upperclassmen, the way they've played has really influenced my game."